Sugar Health Benefits, Properties, and Uses

Sugar occurs naturally in most foods and is a carbohydrate molecule known as sucrose. This molecule is composed from 12 atoms of carbon, 22 atoms of hydrogen and 11 atoms of oxygen (C12H22O11). Sucrose can be broken into two simpler sugars called fructose and glucose. Table sugar is refined natural sugar that is one molecule of fructose and one molecule of glucose. ¹
 
Fructose is natural sugar found in plants. Commercially, most fructose sugar comes from sugar beets, sugarcane and corn although it’s widely taken into the body from other vegetable and fruits. ^1,2
 
Glucose is refined by the body from fructose and is commonly known as blood sugar which drives the body’s energy levels. Glucose is a different molecule classified as C6H12O6. ¹
 
Simple sugars like those found in table sugar, syrup and honey are easily converted into glucose by the body and provide an immediate energy spike. Complex sugars that come from carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, grain and starchy vegetables are slower to digest. They don’t give an immediate sugar rush, rather they slowly conserve and consume glucose at a more consistent rate. ²
 
Sugar Health Uses and Health Benefits
 
Sugar health benefits primarily include being the body’s main energy source. Without sugar, the body would cease to function properly and would soon die. To conserve fuel, the body stores glucose as a compound called glycogen. The body then breaks glycogen back to glucose as energy is required. This is usually between meals, sleeping or during periods of fasting. ²
 
Being that the primary sugar health benefits are that it acts as a primary source of fuel for the body, there are not many additional sugar uses for health. However, sugar uses for health include:

• Hiccups - Hiccups are caused by a pressure difference between the thorax and the abdomen causing the large diaphragm to vibrate. Although the exact mechanism is unknown, eating or drinking a quick amount of sugar causes the diaphragm to stop vibrating and ends hiccups.
   

Sugar Side Effects and Precautions
 
One of the most serious sugar side effects is a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This condition can lead to insulin resistance, fatty liver and dyslipidemia which is abnormal fat levels in blood. Diabetes and heart disease are a direct result. ³
 
Excessive sugar tricks the body into gaining weight by turning off the appetite-control system. Excessive sugar fails to stimulate insulin production which fails to suppress ghrelin, the hormone that triggers hunger sensation. A chain reaction causes the body to crave food and eat more than necessary. ³
 
Other sugar side effects include metabolic dysfunction that leads to conditions like obesity, decreased HDL and increased LDL blood cholesterol levels, elevated triglycerides, elevated blood sugar and high blood pressure or hypertension. ³
 
Excessive sugar also increases uric acid levels that increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. There is such a recognized link between sugar and uric acid that uric acid is used as the marker for fructose toxicity. Fructose directly stimulates the brain’s hedonic pathway and creates habituation and dependence or addiction to eating sugar. ³

References

1. http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar.html
2. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/importance-sugar-human-body-4424.html
3. http://articles.mercola.com/sugar-side-effects.aspx